Written Answers Monday 11 April 2005

Scottish Executive

Airports

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will require a Noise and Track Keeping (NTK) system to be installed at Aberdeen airport.

Nicol Stephen: Any decision to install a Noise and Track Keeping system at Aberdeen airport is a matter for the owner of the airport, BAA Scottish Airports, in consultation with local representatives and airport users. There is no present intention to designate Aberdeen Airport for the purposes of Section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 which would be necessary to empower the Executive to require the installation of such a system.

  BAA Scottish Airports works closely with the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) to monitor noise and track keeping and, as part of its application to remove operating restrictions at Aberdeen airport, BAA is committed to a night period noise management plan.

Airports

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it will make in respect of the development of new international standards for measuring and monitoring aircraft noise.

Nicol Stephen: A new ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) standard on Acoustics – unattended monitoring of aircraft sound in the vicinity of airports is currently under development. This will allow a more accurate determination of noise levels. The Scottish Executive has no plans to make representations on the new standard. It is a technical matter and any Scottish comments are being co-ordinated by the Civil Aviation Authority’s Environmental Research and Consultancy Department for submission through the British Standards Institute.

  The International Civil Aviation Organisation standards and procedures for the noise certification of aircraft are subject to review from time to time and, in this context also, technical advice on UK representations will be a task primarily for the Civil Aviation Authority.

Alzheimer’s Disease

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what protocols exist in respect of clinicians’ and carers’ assessments of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Rhona Brankin: Clinicians have access to standard diagnostic criteria and a multitude of assessment tools for the diagnosis of dementia. These include consideration of intellectual and behavioural functions. Updated best practice clinical guidelines on dementia will be published by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network this summer.

  While the carer’s role is always taken into account in the assessments of those with dementia, there are no specific standards for carers’ assessments of people with dementia.

Bridges

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much gross and net revenue has been raised in each of the last three years from toll charges on the (a) Forth, (b) Tay and (c) Erskine road bridges.

Nicol Stephen: Revenue raised from toll charges at Forth and Tay road bridges is a matter for Forth Estuary Transport Authority and Tay Road Bridge Joint Board respectively, both of which publish annual accounts.

  Revenue raised by toll charges at the Erskine bridge in each of the last three years is detailed in the Erskine Bridge Accounts 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 25778, 30370 and 34771 respectively).

Cancer

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on advertising and other publicity on minimising the risk of skin cancer in each year since 1999.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive has no direct expenditure on advertising or other publicity since 1999 to date but has contributed to a number of initiatives aimed at increasing skin cancer awareness.

  For example, NHS health boards provide information on sun safety and safe use of tanning beds and last year NHS Health Scotland produced a Sun Safe Protection Tips publication for use by health boards, community pharmacies, VisitScotland, Thomas Cook and Scottish airports.

  Also, the Scottish Executive, in partnership with the other UK health departments supports the Cancer Research UK skin cancer prevention campaign SunSmart. The Scottish Executive contribution has been £10,000 in 2003-04, £17,000 in 2004-05 and £17,000 planned for 2005-06.

Census

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what statutory authority the Secretary of State for Scotland had in 1974 to state that Scottish decennial population census returns would not be made available until 100 years after the census to which they relate.

Tavish Scott: The statement made by the Secretary of State to Parliament on 23 May 1974 rested on administrative decisions, underpinned by the undertakings given by the Registrar General to respondents to successive censuses. There was no specific statutory authority for the policy of opening Scottish decennial census returns to the public 100 years after the census to which they relate, nor indeed for opening Scottish census returns to the public at any date. The current statutory authority for the 100 year exemption from access for census returns relating to individuals lies in sections 38(1)(c) and 58(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Census

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what statutory authority the Registrar General for Scotland had to state that no personal information from the 1971 or 1981 decennial population censuses will be passed to any government department or person.

Tavish Scott: The assurances given to census respondents on the 1971 and 1981 census schedules as to the confidentiality of the individual information they provided rested on section 8(2)(a) and (b) of the Census Act 1920. This provided that any person employed in taking a census who "without lawful authority publishes or communicates to any person otherwise than in the ordinary course of such employment any information acquired by him in the course of his employment" or "has possession of any information which to his knowledge has been disclosed in contravention of this act, publishes or communicates that information to any other person" would be guilty of a misdemeanour.

Census

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what statutory authority the Registrar General for Scotland had to state that personal information from the 1991 decennial population census will be kept securely in his office and treated as confidential for 100 years.

Tavish Scott: The assurances about the confidentiality of personal information rested on Section 8 of the Census Act 1920 as amended by the Census Confidentiality Act 1991. The 100 year duration of that confidentiality rested on administrative decisions, underpinned by ministerial undertakings to Parliament. There was no specific statutory authority for the policy of opening 1991 Scottish census returns to the public 100 years after the census to which they relate, nor indeed for opening them to public access at any date. The current statutory authority for the 100 year exemption from access for census returns relating to individuals lies in sections 38(1)(c) and 58(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Census

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what statutory authority the Registrar General for Scotland had to state that personal information from the 2001 decennial population census will be treated as confidential for a period of 100 years.

Tavish Scott: The assurances about the confidentiality of personal information rested on Section 8 of the Census Act 1920 as amended by the Census Confidentiality Act 1991. The 100 year duration of that confidentiality rested on administrative decisions, underpinned by ministerial undertakings to Parliament. There was no specific statutory authority for the policy of opening 2001 Scottish census returns to the public 100 years after the census to which they relate, or indeed for opening them to public access at any date. The current statutory authority for the 100 year exemption from access for census returns relating to individuals lies in sections 38(1)(c) and 58(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Cycling

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities participate in the Ready Steady Bike programme, operated by Cycling Scotland, and how its effectiveness is being monitored.

Nicol Stephen: Five local authorities will participate in the Ready Steady Bike programme from summer 2005: Clackmannan, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Edinburgh and West Lothian. Participating later in 2005 will be: Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee, Highland and Falkirk.

  Cycling Scotland will liaise with local road safety officers and school travel co-ordinators to evaluate the programmes. Cycling Scotland intends to monitor: the number of children trained; levels of on-road and off-road training; the number of children making the journey to school by bicycle following training; provision of cycle parking and other interventions to encourage cycling at the schools, and "signposting" to direct children towards additional cycling and journeying activities.

Cycling

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether specific cycle training courses are being developed by Cycling Scotland for women.

Nicol Stephen: No specific courses for women have been developed by Cycling Scotland. However, all qualified cycle trainers have the competencies to design courses specific to the needs of their client groups. Qualified female instructors are available in Scotland and some women-only cycle training sessions have already been delivered.

Early Years

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements have been made to early years education staff development since 2000.

The Executive has provided a corrected answer which is published in the Written Answer Report on 18 May 2006: see http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/pqa/wa-06/wa0518.htm.

Peter Peacock: Since 2000 the Executive has invested nearly £25 million into early years and child care staff development and a further £12 million is committed to 2008.

  As part of the Scottish Budget arrangements, 2004, the Executive committed to increasing the proportion of workers qualified to the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) registration standards from 66% in 2003 to 85% in 2009.

  Registration of the early years and child care workforce with the SSSC is an important aspect of increasing professionalism in the sector.

  Registration will commence during 2006 and is dependent on holding or working towards a relevant qualification. Registration will also involve a commitment to continuous professional development.

Early Years

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the early years education workforce (a) was qualified to an appropriate standard in 2000 and (b) is now qualified to this standard.

The Executive has provided a corrected answer which is published in the Written Answer Report on 18 May 2006: see http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/pqa/wa-06/wa0518.htm.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Social Services Council published the qualifications criteria for registration of the early years and child care workforce in March 2004.

Early Years

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish an interim report on progress being made on the national review of the early years and child care workforce.

Peter Peacock: No. The review intends to report to ministers in the late summer.

Education

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure that all local authorities provide all schoolchildren with the opportunity to learn to swim by the time they leave primary school.

Peter Peacock: The primary responsibility for the delivery and management of the teaching of swimming within the curriculum rests with local authorities.

  The audit of school swimming provision conducted by Scottish Enterprise Education Department in 2001-02 revealed variations across Scotland. In response to this report, the Scottish Executive commissioned Learning Teaching Scotland to prepare and disseminate a report which would raise awareness of the barriers to providing swimming in Scotland and highlight best practice. This report is in its final stages of preparation and will be issued to local authorities within the next few months.

Education

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has provided for English language classes for immigrants in each year since 1999.

Mr Jim Wallace: Disaggregated data on the costs of English language classes for immigrants, as distinct from other provision, are not available because of the way that local authorities and further education (FE) colleges are funded.

  However, the Scottish Executive did make an extra £5.4 million available between  2001-04 to help support the work that FE colleges were doing with asylum seekers and refugees. This included funding for English language classes.

Education

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the actual spending per head is in (a) nursery, (b) primary and (c) secondary schools, (d) further education colleges and (e) universities, shown also as a percentage of the OECD average.

Peter Peacock: In 2003-04, the latest year for which figures are available, gross revenue expenditure per head by local authorities was £2,295 per pre-school recipient, £3,537 per primary pupil, and £5,058 per secondary pupil.

  In 2002-03, the latest year for which figures are available for tertiary education, the Executive funding provided to the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Councils and the Student Awards Agency for Scotland totalled £4,677 per student enrolment for higher education institutions and £1,259 per student enrolment for further education colleges. The institutions’ and colleges’ actual spend per head will include income from other sources.

  Comparable figures for the OECD are not available.

Education

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated annual cost to local authorities is of the amount of time teachers spend on pupil discipline.

Peter Peacock: The cost of teacher time spent on pupil discipline has not been estimated. It is difficult to quantify how much staff time (including teachers, headteachers and support staff) is spent on promoting positive behaviour, in the form of policy development, staff development and whole school approaches, and responding to indiscipline when it occurs.

  In the Scottish Executive’s Policy Update on Promoting Positive Behaviour in Scottish Schools (October 2004), information was provided on the time spent by headteachers on promoting positive behaviour and responding to indiscipline.

  Sixty-seven per cent of primary headteachers report they spend less than 10% of their time on dealing with indiscipline problems, and 52% of secondary headteachers spend less than 10% of their time on dealing with indiscipline problems.

  In the same survey reported in the Policy Update, less than half of primary teachers (46%) and primary headteachers (40%) report they are spending more time than they used to on discipline problems. In secondary schools, more than two-thirds of teachers (69%) and just over half of secondary headteachers (53%) feel they are spending more time on discipline problems.

Education

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to provide clear advice and better support for teachers to develop their confidence and skills in teaching physical education, as referred to in Let’s Make Scotland More Active.

Peter Peacock: The Physical Education Review Group (PERG) was set up by Scottish ministers as a direct result of the recommendations in Let’s Make Scotland More Active . In my response to the PERG report, I set out my three key aims for physical education: to provide more time, more teachers and more choice.

  Within the wider programme of achieving these key aims, Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) held four regional seminars in March, for local authorities and schools, to raise awareness of the PERG report and my commitment to two hours of PE. The seminars provided a platform to: discuss the key issues; demonstrate a few examples of good practice, and encourage schools to start developing solutions to meet local circumstances. LTS will now build on this by working with HMIe to gather and disseminate best practice delivery of two hours quality and progressive PE programmes. We have also begun discussions with providers of continuous professional development to provide additional opportunities for primary teachers to enhance their qualifications to support more physical activity in schools.

Education

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many records of need were opened in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004, in total and broken down by local authority.

Peter Peacock: The number of Record of Needs opened in 2000-05 in total and broken down by local authority is not held centrally.

  However, we do collect statistics within the school census on the numbers of Records of Needs which exist currently within each local authority. Links to each of these publications are as follows:

  2000 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00079.pdf.

  2001 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00168.pdf.

  2002 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00272.pdf.

  2003 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00350.pdf.

  2004 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00412.

Education

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new classroom assistants have been employed in the Dundee east constituency area since 1997.

Peter Peacock: This information is not held centrally.

Employment

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the extent of the skills shortage, broken down by sector.

Allan Wilson: The information requested is given in the Futureskills Scotland publication, Skills in Scotland 2004, which was published in January 2005. Copies of this publication are available from the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 35294).

Employment

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the skills shortage is estimated to be in the "low-skilled" category.

Allan Wilson: The information requested is given in the Futureskills Scotland publication, Skills in Scotland 2004, which was published in January 2005. Copies of this publication are available from the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 35294).

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take in response to any NHS boards that do not offer fertility treatment in line with the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland’s (EAGISS) guidelines.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive is currently reviewing the criteria for infertility treatment set out in EAGISS and its implementation in NHS boards across Scotland. The Executive will work closely with boards to support implementation of any revised criteria.

Fisheries

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what rules are now in place to govern administrative penalties, as incorporated into the December 2004 EU Fisheries Council agreement.

Ross Finnie: We have sought approval from the European Commission of arrangements whereby, in return for an additional day at sea per month for vessels using over 120mm mesh nets, the fishing licences of vessels observed to be breaching cod recovery regulations will automatically be suspended.

  The relevant period of suspension will be 14 days in cases where there has been a breach of the requirements (a) for four hours notice of arrival in port and details of catch on board whilst carrying more than one tonne of cod; (b) to land only into a designated landing port whilst carrying on board more than two tonnes of cod, or (c) to carry only over 120mm mesh nets whilst taking advantage of the derogation permitting the extra day at sea per month. The suspension period will be seven days for vessels breaching the permitted logbook tolerance of 8% (for cod), or for providing false information in the logbook relating to the date or time of arrival at, or departure from, a port within the cod recovery zone.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-6083 by Susan Deacon on 26 April 2000, how many deaths as a result of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy there have been in each year since 1999.

Tavish Scott: The information requested is given in the table.

  Deaths from Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy 1, Scotland, 1999-2004

  

1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
20042


6
7
7
10
2
5



  Notes:

  1. 1999: International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, code 425.1 2000–2004: International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, code I42.1.

  2. Provisional.

Housing

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any representations regarding the single survey scheme, in particular regarding the merit of the scheme if a survey is three months old or more, and, if so, who the representations were from and what views were expressed in respect of the length of time for which such surveys should be valid.

Malcolm Chisholm: In its final report in 2003, the Housing Improvement Task Force recommended that there should be no prescribed "shelf life" for the single survey on the basis that a surveyor can be expected to assess the condition of a property only at the time when survey is carried out. This is similar to the current position when surveys are commissioned by buyers.

  The Scottish Executive consultation paper on proposals for the Housing Bill included a question on time limits for surveys. Eighty-six percent of those who responded on this point said that there should be a time limit on single surveys. Of those who agreed that there should be a time limit over 60% proposed that the time limit should be six months or less. A further quarter of respondents to this question said that the maximum time limit on the validity of a single survey should be one year.

  Some respondents, for example the National Association of Estate Agents and the Law Society, suggested that a compulsory time limit on single surveys would place financial pressures on sellers particularly in areas where the market is less active.

  The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors expressed strong opposition to any time limit, noting that a survey is a "snapshot" of the property at the time of the inspection. It also pointed out that there are risks in relying on old information.

  The Council of Mortgage Lenders argued that it would be difficult to be prescriptive about a time limit. It expressed the view that in areas where there is a buoyant market, such as Edinburgh, the valuation might change significantly over a three-month period. However, in less active areas a valuation might not change significantly over a six or even a nine-month period.

  From our discussions with the parties mentioned above, we are not aware of any changes to these views on this issue. We will work closely with all stakeholders on this and other issues to deliver an effective scheme.

  A full report on the consultation can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/housing/mhphcr-00.asp.

Justice

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-5331 by Cathy Jamieson on 10 February 2005, whether it will support Miscarriages of Justice Organisation (Scotland) (MOJO) in its attempt to establish a counselling scheme for those released from prison after being found to be the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

Cathy Jamieson: I was pleased to announce on 14 March 2005 that the Justice Department would provide MOJO (Scotland) with funding of a total of £103,000 over the next two years. This funding will help MOJO (Scotland) provide advice and practical assistance to those who have been released from prison following a miscarriage of justice.

Rail Network

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the Remuneration Committee of Network Rail in respect of the level of bonuses proposed for Network Rail directors in view of any breach of its operating licence through failure to provide train companies with sufficient notice of engineering works.

Nicol Stephen: As a public member of Network Rail the Scottish Executive would not make individual representations to the Remunerations Committee. Collectively, members perform a corporate governance role and can hold the Network Rail Board to account for its management of Network Rail.

  This includes reviewing the performance of Network Rail against its commercial and other targets, as well as against railway industry benchmarks for the provision, maintenance and management of the railway infrastructure. However, responsibility for Network Rail’s license remains a matter for the Office of the Rail Regulator.

Roads

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what costs it has incurred (a) to date and (b) in the last year in respect of the M74 northern extension project, broken down into (i) scheme designs, (ii) publicity and lobbying, (iii) the public inquiry and (iv) all other costs associated with the project.

Nicol Stephen: Executive expenditure on the M74 completion project to date and for the last financial year to end March 2005 is shown in the following table:

  

 
Spend to Date
Spend in Financial Year to End March 2005


Scheme Design
£3,232,270.57
£117,878.83


Publicity and Information
£333,006.58
£3,565.33


Public Local Inquiry
£479,098.15
£182,121.26


All Other Costs
£36,923,858.21
£18,233,002.72


Total
£40,968,233.51
£18,536,568.14



  Notes:

  1. The Executive contributes 87.35% to the total cost of the scheme.

  2. Publicity and information costs relate to setting up and running the M74 completion website, public exhibitions (preparation of display material, hire of halls etc), production of brochures and advertising of statutory material.

  3. Other costs principally relate to land purchase and compensation but also include ground investigation, archaeological surveys, topographical surveys and traffic surveys.

  4. Spend in financial year to end March 2005 is estimated.

Roads

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are in place for the removal of litter from the M8 between Glasgow and Greenock; who is responsible for carrying out this work; how often such work takes place, and what verification procedures are in place to ensure that the work takes place.

Nicol Stephen: Amey Infrastructure Services is contractually required to clear litter and other debris from motorways and special roads in accordance with the standards laid down in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the associated Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse. The clearance of litter on all other trunk roads is the responsibility of the appropriate local authority.

  Amey is responsible for litter clearance on the M8 motorway between Glasgow and West Ferry, Junction 31. The route from Junction 31 to Greenock is designated the A8 trunk road and litter clearance from this route is the responsibility of the appropriate local authority, in this case Inverclyde Council.

  Amey’s performance in litter removal is subject to regular scrutiny by the independent performance audit group’s field engineers through their regular route inspections. Any aspect which falls below the required standard results in a requirement for corrective action to be taken within set timescales.

Schools

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many safer routes to school schemes have been established in each local authority area.

Nicol Stephen: The following table gives the information provided by local authorities in 2004. However it should be noted that safer routes to school is a generic term and some activities were reported under a school travel plan banner. One authority stated that whilst a considerable amount of school travel activity was being undertaken it was not in a position to identify this as a specific number of schemes.

  I have recently commissioned research to review the role of school travel co-ordinators. The research will include a survey of the number of schools with school travel plans in place. The report is expected to be published in August this year.

  

Local Authority
Safer Routes to School Schemes


Aberdeen City
78


Aberdeenshire
48


Angus
34


Argyll and Bute
81


Clackmannanshire
1


Dumfries and Galloway
34


East Ayrshire
55


East Dunbartonshire
31


East Lothian
14


East Renfrewshire
1


Edinburgh City
34


Falkirk Council
56


Fife
40


Glasgow City
37


Highland
55


Inverclyde
0


Midlothian
6


Moray
36


North Ayrshire
Activities not identifiable as a specific number of schemes


North Lanarkshire
4


Orkney
6


Perth and Kinross
18


Renfrewshire
64


Scottish Borders
20


Shetland
3


South Ayrshire
14


South Lanarkshire
54


Stirling
16


West Dunbartonshire
18


West Lothian
49


Western Isles
0


Total 
907

Schools

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all local authorities employ school travel co-ordinators and how it is envisaged that school travel needs will be incorporated in regional transport strategies.

Nicol Stephen: Every local authority in Scotland now has at least one school travel plan co-ordinator in post.

  The Transport (Scotland) Bill currently being considered by Parliament includes provisions for the drawing up of regional transport strategies. Each strategy will need to consider the current and future provision of transport within the region and set out practical and affordable plans for its improvement. School travel needs should be included in this consideration, particularly where this impacts on regional rather than purely local travel. The Scottish ministers will issue, later this year, guidance to regional transport partnerships on the development of regional transport strategies.

Schools

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much per capita funding has been allocated by each local authority to primary schools in each of the last five years.

Peter Peacock: The information requested is given in table 2.2 (Total gross revenue expenditure per pupil in primary schools 1998-99 to 2003-04) of Expenditure on School Education in Scotland 2005,  a Scottish Executive publication of 18 January 2005. A copy of this is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 35374). The information is also available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00389-00.asp .

Schools

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any rules governing the length of time between separate proposals to close a school being made and, if not, whether there are any plans to introduce legislation to that effect.

Peter Peacock: The Education (Publication and Consultation Etc) (Scotland) Regulations 1981 set out the requirements on local authorities for consultation with parents and other interests on proposals to close schools. Authorities will take a range of local circumstances into account in deciding when to consult on such proposals. We have no plans to amend the Regulations to govern the timing of the issue of proposals for consultation.

Schools

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have made proposals to build new schools under the Prudential Code as an alternative to PPP.

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have approved proposals to build new schools under the Prudential Code, broken down by school and giving the cost of each proposal.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive believes in a balanced approach to investment, including arrangements under which local authorities can procure work on school buildings through borrowing under the prudential framework, through public private partnerships and under the Schools Fund capital grant. Most authorities make use of all the options available to them for such investment.

  Detailed decisions about investment in new school buildings are for the local authorities themselves. The Scottish Executive does not have comprehensive information about all such proposals.

Sectarianism

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce anti-sectarian training into the school curriculum.

Peter Peacock: We have recently launched an anti-sectarian education resource, entitled Don’t Give It, Don’t Take It . This contains a broad range of classroom material for teachers’ use, and will be followed up with a series of training seminars.

Sectarianism

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has examined the Education for Mutual Understanding programme in Northern Ireland and whether it has any plans to introduce a suitably-adapted model in Scotland.

Peter Peacock: The team which developed our recently launched anti-sectarian education resource, Don’t Give It, Don’t Take It , did make contact with organisations in Northern Ireland to learn from their experiences of the Education for Mutual Understanding programme. However, the resource developed for use here has been specifically designed to address the Scottish context and circumstances.

Sectarianism

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that sectarianism is an issue of concern in schools.

Peter Peacock: Schools have a duty to equip young people to be responsible citizens. Addressing sectarianism is part of this process, in the same way that schools already address other forms of prejudice and discrimination. We have therefore produced an anti-sectarian education resource, Don’t Give It, Don’t Take It , to help teachers to work with young people on issues around sectarianism and religious intolerance.

Transport

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many traffic commissioners there have been to monitor bus operators in each year since 1996.

Nicol Stephen: The responsibility for monitoring bus operators rests with the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency of the Department for Transport (DfT). Prior to 1999 the monitoring of operators compliance with bus registrations was undertaken as required by staff from DfT’s Scottish Traffic Area. In July 1999 two dedicated bus compliance officers were recruited to work within Scotland as part of DfT’s Vehicle Inspectorate (now part of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency – VOSA). Last year, the Scottish Executive agreed to fund an additional four bus compliance officers. The first two of these additional posts were filled in November 2004 and the intention is that VOSA will fill the remaining two posts later this year.